Comments for International Libertyhttps://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com
Restraining Government in America and Around the WorldSat, 10 Dec 2016 01:05:16 +0000hourly1http://wordpress.com/Comment on A Libertarian Quandary: Should Federal Bureaucracies Be Moved to the Hinterland? by Stephen Michael Kellathttps://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/2016/12/09/a-libertarian-quandary-should-federal-bureaucracies-be-moved-to-the-hinterland/#comment-164417
Sat, 10 Dec 2016 01:05:16 +0000http://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/?p=35576#comment-164417Except for the small national HQ, the IRS has the four main business operating division headquarters all outside DC. Philadelphia, Atlanta, Cincinnati, and Baltimore host SB/SE, W&I, TE/GE, and LB&I respectively. Most of the IRS workforce is dispersed away from DC.
]]>Comment on A Libertarian Quandary: Should Federal Bureaucracies Be Moved to the Hinterland? by Adamhttps://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/2016/12/09/a-libertarian-quandary-should-federal-bureaucracies-be-moved-to-the-hinterland/#comment-164416
Sat, 10 Dec 2016 00:35:17 +0000http://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/?p=35576#comment-164416Bad idea. You’re just spreading around the voters who depend on the Federal government for their continued employment. Much better to keep that voting bloc in one spot where they can’t taint the rest of the country.
]]>Comment on Milton Friedman, Adam Smith, and Other People’s Money by Fred gets health care completely wrong. – Adam Piggotthttps://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/2016/05/08/milton-friedman-adam-smith-and-other-peoples-money/#comment-164415
Fri, 09 Dec 2016 23:47:06 +0000http://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/?p=33493#comment-164415[…] To get this point across, I sometimes ask audiences how their behavior would change if I told them I would pay 89 percent of their dinner bill on Friday night. Would they be more likely to eat at McDonald’s or a fancy steakhouse? The answer is obvious (or should be obvious) since they are in box 2 of Milton Friedman’s matrix. […]
]]>Comment on Another Grim Reminder that Obamacare Has Made Healthcare More Expensive by Fred gets health care completely wrong. – Adam Piggotthttps://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/2016/08/29/another-grim-reminder-that-obamacare-has-made-healthcare-more-expensive/#comment-164414
Fri, 09 Dec 2016 23:47:02 +0000http://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/?p=34650#comment-164414[…] So let me do my bit to clear this up. To do so I’m going to enlist the help of the brilliant Dan Mitchell. His piece that I just linked is worth reading in full but I’ll quote here the relevant […]
]]>Comment on Libertarian Quandaries by A Libertarian Quandary: Should Federal Bureaucracies Be Moved to the Hinterland? | International Libertyhttps://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/libertarian-quandaries/#comment-164412
Fri, 09 Dec 2016 21:10:52 +0000http://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/?page_id=28899#comment-164412[…] Libertarian Quandaries […]
]]>Comment on The NAACP’s Shameful Betrayal of Black Kids by A Libertarian Quandary: Should Federal Bureaucracies Be Moved to the Hinterland? | International Libertyhttps://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/2016/09/01/the-naacps-shameful-betrayal-of-black-kids/#comment-164411
Fri, 09 Dec 2016 21:10:49 +0000http://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/?p=34682#comment-164411[…] And the Department of Education could be placed somewhere like Newark where government-run schools are such awful failures. […]
]]>Comment on Should Detroit’s Bankruptcy Be an Early-Warning Sign for Washington? by A Libertarian Quandary: Should Federal Bureaucracies Be Moved to the Hinterland? | International Libertyhttps://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/2013/07/29/should-detroits-bankruptcy-be-an-early-warning-sign-for-washington/#comment-164410
Fri, 09 Dec 2016 21:10:46 +0000http://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/?p=24783#comment-164410[…] could locate some bureaucracies in the dodgy parts of cities such as Detroit. Especially departments such as HUD and HHS since they helped cause the economic misery in inner […]
]]>Comment on A Video(s) Primer on Public Choice Economics by A Libertarian Quandary: Should Federal Bureaucracies Be Moved to the Hinterland? | International Libertyhttps://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/2016/10/08/a-videos-primer-on-public-choice-economics/#comment-164409
Fri, 09 Dec 2016 21:10:43 +0000http://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/?p=34999#comment-164409[…] ones or useless ones), does that create the risk of giving other parts of the nation a “public-choice” incentive to lobby for big government since they’ll be recipients of federal […]
]]>Comment on Time to Shut Down the Department of Transportation and Take a Small Step to Restoring Federalism by A Libertarian Quandary: Should Federal Bureaucracies Be Moved to the Hinterland? | International Libertyhttps://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/2011/01/06/time-to-shut-down-the-department-of-transportation-and-take-a-small-step-to-restoring-federalism/#comment-164408
Fri, 09 Dec 2016 21:10:40 +0000http://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/?p=6670#comment-164408[…] them? Whether based in Detroit or DC, departments such as HUD, Agriculture, Energy, Education, and Transportation shouldn’t […]
]]>Comment on Shut Down the Department of Education, End Federal Government Involvement and Intervention by A Libertarian Quandary: Should Federal Bureaucracies Be Moved to the Hinterland? | International Libertyhttps://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/2015/02/25/shut-down-the-department-of-education-end-federal-government-involvement-and-intervention/#comment-164407
Fri, 09 Dec 2016 21:10:37 +0000http://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/?p=29599#comment-164407[…] than moving them? Whether based in Detroit or DC, departments such as HUD, Agriculture, Energy, Education, and Transportation shouldn’t […]
]]>Comment on Shut Down the Department of Energy, Yesterday if Possible by A Libertarian Quandary: Should Federal Bureaucracies Be Moved to the Hinterland? | International Libertyhttps://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/2016/12/05/shut-down-the-department-of-energy-yesterday-if-possible/#comment-164406
Fri, 09 Dec 2016 21:10:34 +0000http://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/?p=35486#comment-164406[…] rather than moving them? Whether based in Detroit or DC, departments such as HUD, Agriculture, Energy, Education, and Transportation shouldn’t […]
]]>Comment on Time to Shut Down the Department of Agriculture by A Libertarian Quandary: Should Federal Bureaucracies Be Moved to the Hinterland? | International Libertyhttps://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/2011/06/24/time-to-shut-down-the-department-of-agriculture/#comment-164405
Fri, 09 Dec 2016 21:10:31 +0000http://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/?p=9783#comment-164405[…] bureaucracies rather than moving them? Whether based in Detroit or DC, departments such as HUD, Agriculture, Energy, Education, and Transportation shouldn’t […]
]]>Comment on Question of the Week: Which Department of the Federal Government Should Be the First to Be Abolished? by A Libertarian Quandary: Should Federal Bureaucracies Be Moved to the Hinterland? | International Libertyhttps://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/2013/01/27/question-of-the-week-which-department-of-the-federal-government-should-be-the-first-to-be-abolished/#comment-164404
Fri, 09 Dec 2016 21:10:28 +0000http://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/?p=21889#comment-164404[…] bureaucracies rather than moving them? Whether based in Detroit or DC, departments such as HUD, Agriculture, Energy, Education, and Transportation shouldn’t […]
]]>Comment on Beltway Bandits and the Shadow Bureaucracy by A Libertarian Quandary: Should Federal Bureaucracies Be Moved to the Hinterland? | International Libertyhttps://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/2015/08/16/beltway-bandits-and-the-shadow-bureaucracy/#comment-164403
Fri, 09 Dec 2016 21:10:25 +0000http://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/?p=30895#comment-164403[…] And Kupiec points out that it’s not fair that the DC-metro region gains such disproportionate benefits from overpaid bureaucrats and fat-cat consultants. […]
]]>Comment on Taxpayers vs. Bureaucrats, the Video Version by A Libertarian Quandary: Should Federal Bureaucracies Be Moved to the Hinterland? | International Libertyhttps://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/2010/06/01/taxpayers-vs-bureaucrats-the-video-version/#comment-164402
Fri, 09 Dec 2016 21:10:22 +0000http://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/?p=3474#comment-164402[…] out that it’s not fair that the DC-metro region gains such disproportionate benefits from overpaid bureaucrats and fat-cat […]
]]>Comment on It’s a Very Merry Christmas for Washington’s Parasite Class by A Libertarian Quandary: Should Federal Bureaucracies Be Moved to the Hinterland? | International Libertyhttps://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/2013/12/23/its-a-very-merry-christmas-for-washingtons-parasite-class/#comment-164401
Fri, 09 Dec 2016 21:10:19 +0000http://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/?p=26010#comment-164401[…] Kupiec points out that it’s not fair that the DC-metro region gains such disproportionate benefits from overpaid bureaucrats and fat-cat […]
]]>Comment on Washington vs. America by A Libertarian Quandary: Should Federal Bureaucracies Be Moved to the Hinterland? | International Libertyhttps://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/2010/07/19/washington-vs-america-2/#comment-164400
Fri, 09 Dec 2016 21:10:13 +0000http://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/?p=4187#comment-164400[…] not a fan of federal bureaucracies and I don’t like the undeserved wealth of the Washington, DC metro […]
]]>Comment on Congressman Nadler Wins Prize for Historical and Constitutional Illiteracy by A Libertarian Quandary: Should Federal Bureaucracies Be Moved to the Hinterland? | International Libertyhttps://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/2016/06/23/congressman-nadler-wins-prize-for-historical-and-constitutional-illiteracy/#comment-164399
Fri, 09 Dec 2016 21:10:10 +0000http://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/?p=33966#comment-164399[…] not a fan of federal bureaucracies and I don’t like the undeserved wealth of the Washington, DC metro […]
]]>Comment on Great Moments in Pentagon Incompetence and Waste by smapplehttps://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/2016/12/08/great-moments-in-pentagon-incompetence-and-waste/#comment-164397
Fri, 09 Dec 2016 19:58:22 +0000http://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/?p=32389#comment-164397I hesitate to argue, but I must disagree with Mr. Manzano’s logic. What he fails to see is that the entirety of the government employee and public sector employee voting block comprise a portion of what Mitt Romney referred to as the “47 percent” who are always going to vote a certain way. Yes, a small portion may not, but for the most part they are struck on stupid in their voting decisions.

And, no – statistically it is not 1.5 percent who decide the election, it is the entirety of those who vote a specific direction. Without the 49.8 percent who are underneath that 1.5 percent, it never reaches the needed margin. So you cannot discount that portion. If you want to speak of the swing vote, that is a different matter, but not how you stated it.

But, to side with what was said, it was deToqueville who observed- The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public’s money. And further – A democratic government is the only one in which those who vote for a tax can escape the obligation to pay it. As more of the “public” becomes employed by the government, the sooner we reach that magic tipping point where more people want more government than want freedom. In the last election I feared we may have reached that point, and was thus very surprised to see an outsider who wants to tear it down actually win.

]]>Comment on Great Moments in Pentagon Incompetence and Waste by How the Pentagon wastes money and shipped a hellfire missile to Cuba by mistake - Self-Reliance Centralhttps://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/2016/12/08/great-moments-in-pentagon-incompetence-and-waste/#comment-164394
Fri, 09 Dec 2016 18:18:20 +0000http://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/?p=32389#comment-164394[…] Great Moments in Pentagon Incompetence and Waste […]
]]>Comment on Great Moments in Pentagon Incompetence and Waste by jmanzano1930jhttps://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/2016/12/08/great-moments-in-pentagon-incompetence-and-waste/#comment-164390
Fri, 09 Dec 2016 16:06:21 +0000http://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/?p=32389#comment-164390Yes, the Pentagon is a wasteland of public inefficiency and waste. National security and defense, however, is likely a natural monopoly responsibility of a nation that requires organizational unity rather than an internally competitive supplier. It therefore requires close monitoring for efficiency, and effectiveness by elected representatives.

But that does not seem to be true in most other public sector activities, education being a clear example, where services can be provided by competing sources. In operation, howeever, public sector activities have tended to become the happy hunting ground of cronyism focused, sadly, on legislation, and practices, that monopolize services under public sector unions, and political leadership, largely the Democratic Party.

Here are some interesting facts.

During the last 3 presidential elections, the percent of Democratic votes for the Presidency was 51.3 of the votes cast. For Republicans, it was 48.3 percent. That means that, on average, the election was decided by 1.5 percent of the voters – half the difference ( plus one)….the flip of a coin.

There are about 125 million votes cast in presidential elections. Government employees number about 21 million, or about 16 percent of the workforce. If government employees voted their pocketbooks, that is, routinely supporting increased public budgets, their votes would represent 10 times the number needed to swing an election. Similarly, there are about 3.3 million public school teachers, or about 2.6 percent of the voters. If they voted their pocketbooks, teachers alone would decide elections, particularly at the local level, where education expenditures routinely consume a third, or more, of the total, sucking the oxygen out of competing needs – police, roads, health care, and social services. (Note that the weight of voter would double if spouses were included).

Public sector employees, particularly public school teachers at the local level, are decisive in elections. That leaves 80 percent of the national workforce, those in the private sector – divided, and subservient to government.

Essentially, fiscal restraint, that is, the limitation of expenditures in public programs, faces a formidable ‘bloc’ of voters – organized, virtually to vote routinely for increases, as well as for the political leadership that “butters their bread” – largely Democrats. So powerful is this collusive “crony” public sector force, that deficit spending becomes virtually unrestrained at all levels – local, state, national, and international. Witness the growth of the national deficit, now at about $20 trillion. That however, is dwarfed when compared to the unfunded liability conservatively estimated to be over $200 trillion. Internationally, economies teeter under similar excesses. Unaddressed, employment, security and the social order within, and between nations, threaten to collapse like dominoes or a houses of cards.

The need for reason, and sober leadership is made obvious by its absence. Like the Phoenix, we may have to suffer destruction by fire before civility and order can rise from the ashes of failed governance.

]]>Comment on What’s Responsible for Ever-Growing Government, Entitlements or Defense? by Great Moments in Pentagon Incompetence and Waste | Conservative Republican Newshttps://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/2016/11/20/whats-responsible-for-ever-growing-government-entitlements-or-defense/#comment-164389
Fri, 09 Dec 2016 14:32:37 +0000http://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/?p=35372#comment-164389[…] month, I explained that America’s fiscal problems are almost entirely the result of domestic spending programs, […]
]]>Comment on Great Moments in Pentagon Incompetence and Waste by rebelathearthttps://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/2016/12/08/great-moments-in-pentagon-incompetence-and-waste/#comment-164387
Fri, 09 Dec 2016 10:47:35 +0000http://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/?p=32389#comment-164387Amen.
]]>Comment on Texas, California, and the Tale of the Coyote by FRIEDMAN FRIDAY Trump should compare France to Hong Kong and then follow Hong Kong’s example of less government!!!! | The Daily Hatchhttps://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/2011/01/14/texas-california-and-the-tale-of-the-coyote/#comment-164386
Fri, 09 Dec 2016 07:51:06 +0000http://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/?p=6786#comment-164386[…] but not least, there’s even a very amusing joke about California, Texas, and a […]
]]>Comment on The Middle Class Is Voting with its Feet against California and other High-Tax States by FRIEDMAN FRIDAY Trump should compare France to Hong Kong and then follow Hong Kong’s example of less government!!!! | The Daily Hatchhttps://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/2016/02/28/the-middle-class-is-voting-with-its-feet-against-california-and-other-high-tax-states/#comment-164385
Fri, 09 Dec 2016 07:51:03 +0000http://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/?p=32767#comment-164385[…] teach us lessons about job creation. About business climate. About government efficiency. And about labor mobility. And the lesson is always the same: You get better results when government is smaller and less […]
]]>Comment on Texas Thumps California by FRIEDMAN FRIDAY Trump should compare France to Hong Kong and then follow Hong Kong’s example of less government!!!! | The Daily Hatchhttps://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/2010/03/10/texas-thumps-california/#comment-164384
Fri, 09 Dec 2016 07:51:00 +0000http://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/?p=2450#comment-164384[…] California are role models. They teach us lessons about job creation. About business climate. About government efficiency. And about labor mobility. And the lesson is always the same: You get better results when […]
]]>Comment on Texas vs. California by FRIEDMAN FRIDAY Trump should compare France to Hong Kong and then follow Hong Kong’s example of less government!!!! | The Daily Hatchhttps://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/2013/02/11/texas-vs-california/#comment-164383
Fri, 09 Dec 2016 07:50:57 +0000http://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/?p=22186#comment-164383[…] both Texas and California are role models. They teach us lessons about job creation. About business climate. About government efficiency. And about labor mobility. And the lesson is always the same: You get […]
]]>Comment on What Can We Learn by Comparing the Employment Situation in Texas vs. California? by FRIEDMAN FRIDAY Trump should compare France to Hong Kong and then follow Hong Kong’s example of less government!!!! | The Daily Hatchhttps://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/2013/04/03/what-can-we-learn-by-comparing-the-employment-situation-in-texas-vs-california/#comment-164382
Fri, 09 Dec 2016 07:50:54 +0000http://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/?p=23241#comment-164382[…] vs. small government, both Texas and California are role models. They teach us lessons about job creation. About business climate. About government efficiency. And about labor mobility. And the lesson is […]
]]>Comment on Just Because California Is Terrible, that Doesn’t Mean Texas Is Perfect by FRIEDMAN FRIDAY Trump should compare France to Hong Kong and then follow Hong Kong’s example of less government!!!! | The Daily Hatchhttps://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/2013/01/21/just-because-california-is-terrible-that-doesnt-mean-texas-is-perfect/#comment-164381
Fri, 09 Dec 2016 07:50:51 +0000http://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/?p=21755#comment-164381[…] None of this means policy is perfect in Texas, needless to say. There are several ways that policy could be improved. […]
]]>Comment on Krugman’s “Gotcha” Moment Leaves Something to Be Desired by FRIEDMAN FRIDAY Trump should compare France to Hong Kong and then follow Hong Kong’s example of less government!!!! | The Daily Hatchhttps://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/2014/07/25/krugmans-gotcha-moment-leaves-something-to-be-desired/#comment-164380
Fri, 09 Dec 2016 07:50:48 +0000http://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/?p=27976#comment-164380[…] The column also looks at the jobs data (which will cause special angst for Paul Krugman). […]
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